Week One (cont.): Table work and beginnings

They aren’t the first things that happen on a production, but the first few rehearsals are considered, without question, pretty damn important. People get together, they meet, they greet and dimly, the outlines of the show-to-be starts to emerge from the first read-through of the script.

But actors don’t get up and start walking around from the first minute. The cast and crew first do table work, where the director and actors sit down and try to dig a little deeper into the text. It’s literary CSI, where we look at the explicit AND implicit in the script, figuring what the author said and didn’t say and why—then using that to inform action in the play.

Henry Y. Hwang

It’s a little more complex than usual, since YELLOW FACE is a mockumentary, based on real life. Jane Krakowski actually did star in David Henry Hwang’s FACE VALUE, and FACE VALUE actually did flop, closing before it ever opened in 1993. There actually were extensive Congressional investigations into Chinese campaign finances during the Clinton Administration (well, OK, Republicans are always acting like racist assholes). Henry Y. Hwang actually was called in front of Congress because of it. The cast and crew spent a lot of time figuring out what’s true and what’s no true. We spent even more time figuring out exactly how much of that gets on stage—either truth or fiction.

During all this, director/ReAct producer David Hsieh asks a lot of questions. This is his job as director, not to TELL the actors what to do, but to guide and enable them to do an effective performance. “Where is this meeting taking place? One of their offices, or in a public area?” “Why is he using ‘Mr. Hwang’ there and not David?” “How long were they going out and did they live together?” There is a LOT of backstory being built in this week, not only to give depth to the characters, but because a lot of characters are appearing on stage, portrayed by only a handful of actors.

Speaking of the cast, let’s meet them. Playing the pivotal role of DHH (David Henry Hwang) is veteran actor Moses Yim. A long time actor with SIS Productions and its Sex in Seattle series, Moses tackles the role with a healthy amount of trepidation about portraying an Asian American theatre icon. ‘Course, I’ll just tell what happened at one of the Junipero dorm party—deep background research and all….(Bonus fact: Moses was Teen Crush of the month last year for Seattle’s Teen Tix and has been nominated for Teen Crush of the Year).

Lee Osorio (Marcus Gee) is an experienced actor about town, though he’s new to ReAct and the Pork Filled Players. You may have seen him at Book It, or you may have seen him around the Woodland Park Zoo where he has a connection. He’s also done high level work in other cities (which makes me fall down on my knees thanking the fates we were able to cast someone of his caliber).

Stephanie Kim (Leah, Charla Chang, Margaret Fung, etc.) is also new to ReAct and Seattle, after hopscotching around the country (Florida, Chicago, Memphis et al). Stephanie is a scarily versatile actor in the show, playing characters who are in their 20s, 30s, 40s and even 60s. At one point during rehearsal, she pitched her voice just this way and inflected it just that way, and I swore I was listening to the real life woman who inspired one of the characters in YELLOW FACE.

Jeremy Behrens (Name Withheld on Advice of Counsel, etc.) is also new to Seattle, ReAct and PFP. In fact, Jeremy is so brand new that he graduated from Bradley in May, hopped on board a plane and was settled in Seattle by June. This just missed the summer of David Henry Hwang that’s now occurring in Chicago, but YELLOW FACE is more than keeping him busy.

Henry Vu (HYH, Rodney, etc.) is brand new to ReAct and PFP (hm, a very set pattern here), as he just graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in drama. Like a lot of the other actors in the cast, Henry gets to play a wide array of characters, including David Henry Hwang’s Republican activist immigrant father. It’s not exactly sketch comedy (which Pork Filled does very well), but it’s using closely related skills to quickly establish character and persona.

Julia Beers (Jane Krakowski, Lily Tomlin, etc.) is brand new to yadda yadda yadda. However, you may have seen her in Seattle in a wide variety of places, including Balagan, GreenStages, Unexpected Productions and many, many others. And she rocks a blonde wig as Jane Krakowski (see PR shots).

Agastya Kohli (Narrator, etc.) is last, but not least, because—surprise!!—he’s been a veteran performer for both Pork Filled Players and ReAct (in fact, he was in PFP’s last sketch show in May). On top of all that, he is head of Pratidhwani, the east Indian (East Indian? What's that? I think you mean Indian. Just because Columbus got lost 500 years ago does not mean I need a qualify my Indian-ness with an 'East'. There is only one Indian Ocean, and it's not near West Indies - AK) drama troupe (which co-produced ReAct’s last show, the smash hit Mother in Another Language). If that weren’t enough, Agastya sees more shows in a month than most people see in a decade; he laughs at JUST 52 shows in 52 weeks.

Whew. That’s a lot. So we’ll talk more later.